


Dopamine Rush

by Danganphobia



Series: Room 102 [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Doctor Leorio Paladiknight, Elementary School, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Kid Fic, LEORIO BDAY FIC BITCHES, M/M, Mutual Pining, Team Bonding, Team as Family, impromptu karaoke sessions and illegally stealing school buses, let's all love leorio, sometimes you can have a birthday party in your office at a hospital, spontaneous birthday surprise montage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:29:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29818089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danganphobia/pseuds/Danganphobia
Summary: Kurapika had an idea. “What day is your dad’s birthday?”“Wednesday. March third.” Gon said.“Oh my.” Kurapika realized that Leorio’s birthday was intwo days, “today’s Monday.” for how long he’s known Leorio evenhedidn’t know his birthday and he didn’t think it’d be this close. “He isn’t aware that his birthday is intwo days?”Room 102 and co. help throw a surprise party for Leorio's birthday, which everyone is aware of but the doctor himself.
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Series: Room 102 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191896
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	Dopamine Rush

**Author's Note:**

> I managed to write a fic just in time for Leorio's birthday with JUST THE RIGHT amount of chaotic energy I expected myself to get carried away with.
> 
> For those of you reading this, this is a standalone one shot to my main fic **[Doctor's Order](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557414/chapters/69983310)**! It's somewhere within the timeline but it's something I couldn't fit into the main storyline as the update schedules didn't line up/didn't have enough time to dedicate a bday chapter in the main fic... so, here we are!

It was the first time during class Kurapika noticed Gon was acting _off_ — it wasn’t the kind of off that meant accidentally knocking over Nemo’s fish bowl because he and Killua were running around play fighting (he was saved, by a miracle, by being dropped in a cup of dirty tap water and everyone collectively sighed— Killua had saved the fish bowl just in time before it fell off the shelf but it didn’t stop its contents from spilling out of it) this was a different off.

Normally, things didn’t bother Gon. He was always in a chirpy mood everyday while his best friend went through five hundred different mood swings at once, so of course, Kurapika had to ask about it. He didn’t expect it to be _too_ concerning. Most of the time their problems resorted to petty fights with their classmates that could be resolved with an apology and a promise to be on their best behavior.

He was talking with students one-on-one for reading assessments, so when he had called Gon over for his turn he brought up the question after the assessment concluded.

“Everything alright, sweetie?” Kurapika asked.

Gon nodded. The look in his eyes told Kurapika otherwise, distant and mellow. It almost broke his heart to see it. “Yeah.”

“You can talk to me.” Kurapika kept his tone soft and patient, “are you sure?”

Gon shook his head. Asking again usually did the trick and he wasn’t as stubborn about hiding his feelings about anything bothering him personally.

Kurapika saw the tears well up in Gon’s eyes, and he bolted from his chair. “Gon?!” he called after him, but the boy didn’t listen. All the kids were doing their work, watching Gon leave in confusion.

Killua shot up from his seat.

“Everyone, stay seated.” Kurapika said, “continue doing your work.” He tailed after Gon once the door had closed, opening it and kicking the doorstop beneath the door, holding it in place.

Gon didn’t run very far, he was right there. He sat down against the wall with his head buried in his knees. Kurapika sighed in relief.

He bent down, another teacher who spotted him was about to ask what was wrong— Kurapika shook his head. He could handle this.

He crouched down to Gon’s level, seeing his shoulders shake as he quietly cried into his arms.

“Gon?” Kurapika rubbed his shoulder soothingly, “honey?”

“ _Sorru_.” His voice sounded muffled.

“What?”

Gon lifted his head. He was a messy crier, much like his classmates. Snot, drool, and tears jumbled together. “I didn’t wanna run away too far because I don’t wanna get in trouble.”

“That’s okay.” Kurapika had tissues in his pockets. It’s a small pack of Kleenex, but it should do the trick. He handed a couple tissues for Gon to wipe his tears and blow his nose.

“I didn’t wanna worry anyone,” Gon sniffled, “and have them see me all sad and stuff.”

“It’s just you and me.” Kurapika continued rubbing his shoulders, “would you like to stay out here with me for a while?”

Gon nodded.

“Okay.” Kurapika didn’t want to force him, so he tread further lightly, “are you ready to tell me what’s wrong? Or do you need another moment?”

“My dad.” Gon murmured, clutching the tissues in his hands.

“Mhm?”

“He forgot his birthday.”

 _Ah._ While the situation seemed… less drastic than Kurapika anticipated, he treated all his students’ personal problems seriously and didn’t want to make less of it.

“I was hoping he’d remember and stuff. ‘Cause for his birthday every year I drop hints and he’d have to figure it out so he’d know I’m planning to surprise him, and when he does, I try to do something nice for him. Like making him something he would like. He always remembers. But he’s been working a lot so much he didn’t even pick up on any of my hints.”

Kurapika frowned. “That sounds unlike him. Maybe work has been keeping him really busy and he’s too tired to figure out your hints anymore.”

“That’s the thing! I don’t wanna tell him his birthday’s coming up without telling him any hints because it takes the fun out of it! At this rate it’s gonna pass and he won’t even remember.”

“You can still work on the gifts, can’t you?”

“I like it when dad and I play guessing games. I like when he comes back from work all happy and ready to play with me, not when he’s tired and tells me he’ll play again another time.”

“It isn’t a surprise without the whole guessing game, isn’t it?” They didn’t celebrate birthdays as big back home. They’d exchange a gift or two, drink, and eat as a family and didn’t invite any extended friends or family. Everything was kept private.

Gon shook his head. “I know that dad does a lot of hard work. But our scavenger hunt meant a lot to me… it sucks that we can’t do it this year.”

Kurapika had an idea. “What day is your dad’s birthday?”

“Wednesday. March third.” Gon said.

“Oh my.” Kurapika realized that Leorio’s birthday was in _two days_ , “today’s Monday.” for how long he’s known Leorio even _he_ didn’t know his birthday and he didn’t think it’d be this close. “He isn’t aware that his birthday is in _two days?_ ”

“No!” Gon cried, “and I don’t know what to do!”

“It’s okay,” Kurapika held both his shoulders now, “I have an idea. But I’m going to need you to trust me.”

“O-Okay…” Gon nodded, the tears stopped falling but his cheeks were still wet.

“Do you trust me?”

Gon nodded again.

Kurapika stood up, offering a hand for Gon to take. “Wipe your tears,” he reminded softly. Gon quickly smeared them off with his tissues, and kept them in his pocket.

It’s clear that Gon’s classmates couldn’t focus on their work because of what had happened with Gon. Killua was in his seat, eyes firmly locked on his best friend along with the rest of their table. Gon returned to his table wordlessly until they immediately asked what happened.

“It’s okay!” Gon smiled, eyes still red and puffy from his crying earlier, “Mr. Kurta made me feel better. It’s just stuff at home.”

“Are you sure?” Killua asked. “I’ve just… never seen you look sad before.”

“Yeah!”

Kurapika looked at Gon, the two sharing silent understanding that none of them had picked up on. His eyes roamed the classroom as he contemplated this idea.

Here goes nothing.

He walked up to the chalkboard and turned around. “Okay, listen up everyone. Change of plans. Gon and I need your help.” their attention was now locked on him. “I was just informed that Mr. Paladiknight, our guest speaker, and Gon’s father— as you all know very well from his previous visit— his birthday is in approximately two days and as far as we know he doesn’t have a single clue.”

They started talking among each other.

“He forgot his birthday?” Komugi asked, “oh no!”

“How can someone forget their birthday?” Pokkle asked, “birthdays are like the best part of the year!”

“That’s what was making you sad?” Killua asked.

“Well usually we do scavenger hunts and he hasn’t figured out any of my hints yet…” Gon smiled sheepishly, “it’s really bummed me out since.”

“When’s his birthday?” Zushi asked.

“March third.”

“ _That’s so close!”_ Everyone had the same reaction Kurapika did. Gon laughed.

“I know!”

“Then that’s the old man’s fault for not remembering! Don’t blame yourself!” Killua said.

“Maybe my hints weren’t good enough this time…” Gon sulked.

“He’s getting past the age of eighty-four and the oldness is going to make his brain explode!” Pokkle said, “I heard that when you get old, your brain starts melting!”

_“What?!”_

“We have to save him then!” Zushi said, “from the parasite attacking his brain!”

“Since when was there a parasite?” Kurapika asked himself. They had the most wild imagination he’s ever witnessed. Much like a game of telephone, one thing coming out the mouth of someone else spread around rapidly and turned into a gigantic monster when left unsupervised. The _cooties epidemic_ being a _prime example_.

“Is your dad’s brain going to explode?” Ponzu asked. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!”

“I didn’t know his brain was melting!”

“The trigger was because he forgot his birthday.” Canary stated. “We have to reverse the curse.”

“My sister knows someone who can reverse brain damage!” Abdul suggested.

“Everyone! This is an _emergency_ ,” Kurapika intervened. “I know we’re all terrified, but we need to _focus_. Mr. Paladiknight is not in grave danger. He is completely _fine_ and no one needs reverse brain damage surgery, I promise you that. So listen carefully.” They simmered down instantly.

“I’m proposing the idea that we throw Mr. Paladiknight a surprise birthday emergency celebration. I’m enlisting the help of my class and the other teachers.” Kurapika explained. Everyone perked up with excitement.

“Really?!” Gon asked.

“I can’t do it without my hard-working students.” Kurapika picked up a piece of blue chalk sitting beneath the chalkboard, “we’re going to spend starting from now and tomorrow brainstorming ideas. We have very little time. So we need to make every second we spent in class together count. Are you with me?!” he asked, raising his fist in the air. _“Osu_!”

The class pumped their fists in the air. _“OSU!”_

__

They spent the next day and a half planning for Leorio’s birthday surprise. Kurapika had to consult his co-workers when they met up during their break time. He told them that they needed to keep this a secret and make sure Leorio didn’t find out about any of this until the day of. They just needed to do some last-minute gift shopping, anything they could find, or anything Leorio might like— the same conversation he had with his class so they could stack up on a gift pile.

Getting their help was easy. The plan was that they surprise Leorio at his office— and it just so happened to be in the hospital he worked at. Yorknew General Hospital. He told Pietro in advance and he said he could talk with his supervisors about allowing visitors into the building and their authorization would grant them access to Leorio’s quarters for the time being, explaining that it was for a special occasion. Pietro said fondly that he expected his _dumbass_ to end up forgetting his birthday one of these days and he’d seen it coming from a mile away. The man was a workaholic, and his closest friends knew this.

Waiting on Pietro’s word was the most agonizing part, but Kurapika suggested they don’t do anything until they’re given a say if it was okay. He did, eventually, and now they just had to start preparing for the surprise party. They all crashed Kurapika's small apartment that night to discuss who was bringing _what_ to the party location, whether it be refreshments, plates, cups, drinks, the custom-made banner, the festive decorations. Mito had even offered help with baking a special cake for him as soon as she was informed about it, treating this with sincerity and proper precautions until the wee hours of the morning. Pairo helped Kurapika brew tea for everyone to keep them motivated throughout their late-night planning. Cramming all the details into a single sleepover meant all the energy they could get, they had even talked about where to get the best doctor-themed decorations, snacks, and gifts for surgeons and where they could start looking. They intended to decorate Leorio's office so it's more festive.

"Any questions before we do the checklist?" Kurapika asked. "Please ask now to avoid any complications because I know we're running really short on time here."

"Yeah." Phinks said, "have you ever tried... _eating a burger with no honey mustard?_ "

Kurapika felt like he was missing something because they started cackling and clapping like seals.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, Pika." Pairo wheezed, "you really haven't heard of eating a burger with no honey mustard?"

"I'm not following."

"Please tell me you find it funny." Machi begged. "Please."

Kurapika facepalmed, "we are _working_ so please stop being unprofessional."

"Eating a burger with no honey musta—"

Kurapika snorted _hard_ into his palm. It's because they were laughing so hard he was laughing so hard he let out pig snorts embarrassingly.

"There it is!" Phinks pointed. "They're laughing!"

" _Alright! Hush!_ " Kurapika caught his breath, he awkwardly stood up on the couch because the coffee table was used for all their organizing, and he was short. "It's time to go over the checklist. Are we ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Snacks, Pakunoda and Machi?"

"Here!"

"Gifts, Shalnark and Pairo!"

"Here!"

"Drinks! Knuckle and Shoot!"

"I have the alcohol." Knuckle said, "straight from the bar, but since we know there's gonna be little kids there Shoot's bringing soda."

"I told him we should just ditch the alcohol." Shoot sighed.

"It's not BBFL tradition without bringing at least one bottle to someone's birthday!"

"That's fine." Kurapika let him, only because he wanted to respect their tradition, "keep it for adults only."

"Awesome!"

"Party decorations, Feitan and Phinks!"

"Here!"

"Plates, spoons, forks! Melody and Basho!"

"Here!"

"Banner, Kite?!"

"Here." Kite saluted. "I'm also making the birthday sash."

"Cups! Shizuku!"

Shizuku didn't say anything. They looked at her.

"Shizu?" Machi asked.

"I'm Shizuku." Shizuku responded.

Kurapika swiped through his iPad, double-checking. "You're in charge of getting the cups."

"Oh! Yeah! I forgot."

"Please make sure she doesn't forget the cups." Kurapika said.

"Yeah, we know." Phinks replied, "Shizu, tomorrow, I'll send you five text messages to _not forget the cups_."

Shizuku nodded. "Okay!"

"Five works best." Machi said to Kurapika, "don't ask why. But it gets the message across."

"Okay lovely." Kurapika swiped down some more. "Mito is baking the cake. Pietro is getting us authorized for the office visit. The kids said they'll be bringing extra snacks and gifts, but they're not here to present for that either so I have them checked down. Unsure whether or not Zepile is joining but he said that he'd make arrangements. I think that settles it. We have a party." They whooped and hollered. 

"Are we ready to throw LP a dope ass birthday party?!" Phinks asked.

_"YEAH!"_

"Let's get to work." Kurapika hopped off the couch. "We have a day left."

Kurapika didn't care if he got only an hour of fucking sleep as result, they needed to get shit done.

Lastly was transportation. A good few of Kurapika's class had signed up to come along and half of the Yorknew staff. They only had about a day and a fucking _half_ to arrange all of this and it’s as stressful as trying to organize a field trip except they had so little time to plan everything ahead they’re waiting here anxiously like sitting ducks.

Of course not everyone could come, conflicting schedules were a thing and all. But he hadn’t expected a good majority of his friends and students to offer whatever help they could. He knew this was asking for a _lot_ but this was for Gon _and_ Leorio’s sake. He had the opportunity to finally repay him with something bigger than ever.

They’d be leaving the building after school had ended. Cheadle wasn’t going to allow them to request for anything on such short notice, given this was something they planned without informing the faculty and completely on their own will.

Pietro told them to gather outside the building the afternoon of Leorio’s birthday, by then, they had all their things checked off the list in preparation for the party.

“Well?” Pairo asked. “We’ve got everything ready.”

“Great!” Pietro said.

“Where’s our ride?” Machi frowned.

“I thought you said that it’d be best if we all went there together.” Shalnark added.

“Well, about that.” Pietro laughed, “ _I’m_ not the one in charge of making the reservations.”

“How are we gonna get to the hospital?!” Kurapika shrieked, “I have some of my class waiting with me!” on rushed approval from their parents who’d probably be worried sick for waiting _this_ long. They’re lined up by the fence, Mito watching them.

“What time is it?” Phinks asked.

“Uh… three-thirty…” Melody checked her watch. “When does Leorio end his shift?”

“Oh boy.” Pietro placed his hands on his hips, “don’t panic, but we got thirty minutes. He shouldn't have any more patients to see around this time and does all his work in his office until his shift ends.”

“ _Thirty minutes?!”_ Unfortunately for him, they _will_ panic.

“The hospital’s like fifteen minutes away.” Pairo said. “But we can’t drive there without a bus big enough to fit all of us.”

Pietro was about to speak when Kurapika grabbed his shoulders, “are you telling me we did _all this_ just to not have a _ride_?!”

“Alright, I said don’t panic for a reason!” Pietro laughed, “I may have mentioned I wasn’t in charge of the reservations.”

“So who is?” Pakunoda asked, “a last-minute space shuttle?”

A yellow-bus veered down the street, answering her question. Everyone paused, watching the bus knock over a garbage can and swerve across the narrow road. It rammed right into the curb, and didn’t even bother to park.

“Zepile is.” Pietro finished. “You mentioned that they won’t allow you to reserve a ride. I didn’t have the time, so I asked Zep if he could help a few _amigos_ out.”

The window next to Zepile was rolled down as he stuck his head out, grinning. “Get in, fellas. We got a birthday party to run.”

Shoot's sitting up front. Knuckle came running up to the doors. 

"Let's go! Kids are goin' in first!" He commanded.

“Uncle Zepile!” Gon was the first to notice him and ran toward the bus.

“Single-file line!” Kurapika reminded them, but it fell on deaf ears when the other kids followed suit.

“Where’s the goods?!” Zepile asked.

“We left it inside.” Pairo said.

“Go fuckin’ get it! We ain’t got much time!”

“Go!” Kurapika told the others. The run back to the staff room to gather their things and back took about five minutes, leaving the school building with their hands full. The building was completely cleared from all other students aside from a few faculty when they dashed across the halls for the exit doors. Basho and Kite kept the doors open, urging them to run as fast as they could for the bus.

Zepile had saved them enough time with a ride, the remainder of the party filed into the bus and he didn’t bother waiting for anyone to sit down. He started up the bus and sped off to the hospital.

No one sat down to relax, they were on the move _during the entire ride_ distributing all the items amongst each other so that everyone had something to hold. Even the children crowded at the back row, everyone volunteering to hold at least one thing to take the weight off their shoulders.

“Ayo,” Phinks asked Zepile, “where’d you get this bus?”

“Don’t worry about it!” Zepile answered from the front, “I’ll bring it back later!”

The response flew over most of their heads. Most. Kurapika squinted.

_“Did you steal this bus?!”_

“We’re runnin’ short on time and I don’t have the kinda money to _rent_ shit!” Zepile said, “we gotta get to Leorio’s office in _twenty minutes_!”

“That doesn’t mean you steal a school bus!”

“Of course.” Pietro deadpanned. “That’s Zepile for you.”

“The guy you’re crushin’ on having a criminal for a friend is pretty sexy.” Pakunoda teased.

“We’re gonna surprise my dad!” Gon cheered, “yay!”

 _“YEAH!”_ The kids chorused.

They made it to the hospital having only eight minutes to spare.

“EVERYBODY OUTTA THE FUCKING CAR!” Zepile shouted, “GET OUT! OUT! OUT!”

“He said a bad word!” Pokkle gasped.

"Fuck!" Gon shouted. They all started saying _fuck_ to express their frustrations.

"No cursing!" Kurapika scolded.

"Let the kids go first!" Mito reminded them, helping them get off the bus and telling them to watch their step.

About two to three dozen people squished into the bus had to squeeze themselves out with their party stash and make a run for it into the hospital. Zepile kept honking the horn, angering the cars trying to pass instead seeing a giant cheese bus blocking half of the road. There’s some on-lookers wondering what the Hell was going on, strangers and hospital patients included, the automatic doors didn’t open for them right away so they had to endure running face-first into glass before the doors responded to their presence.

“Five minutes!” Pairo shouted.

“Let me go first I work here!” they parted for Pietro to pass through, “follow me!” he said. He quickly had to show his ID and sign-in with a rushed scan, explaining that he had a _throng of guests_ to escort for a birthday surprise.

"Dr. Figueroa! We can't just let them in here without a screening! Visitors need passes!" The security guard exclaimed, a little flustered by the large party.

"Don't worry," Pietro said, "they're with me. I don't care if I get rattled for this but we're running short on time so just let us pass."

The security guard sighed heavily, allowing them through.

"That was kinda hot." Pairo commented.

"Thanks." Pietro sighed.

"Careful there, he's a married man." Kurapika deadpanned.

"Oh relax! Sometimes a man can appreciate fine art from afar." 

"My supervisors aren't gonna be too happy about this, but Leo's my best friend and I can't have that dumbass work himself to death without knowin' today's his special day. He's about to end a really big surgery." Pietro guided them through. "Alright let's go! Move, move, move! There's patients here so be careful and don't drop anything!"

"Thank you!" Shalnark chirped. The rest of them bolted down the hallway. Kurapika felt bad for the many doctors, nurses, and patients they nearly ran over on the way following Pietro to Leorio’s office.

Thankfully it was still empty when they arrived. It’s quite spacious for a single office, still got a little cramped when they flooded inside and unloaded all the items in tow. The banner was hung up, the plates, cups, snacks, and drinks were set on the desk. The gifts were sent to the corner of the room. Melody came in last with the birthday cake. Mito had made it herself and left it in the staff room’s fridge while they waited for Zepile to arrive and she agreed to take the cake off her hands.

It’s surgeon-themed, the toppings consisted of a patient being operated on in what looked like bits of pieces of the OR— _happy birthday Leorio_ scribbled on the front with red icing, a stethoscope plastered to the side of the cake, blue icing framed the cake from the bottom while the rest was covered in white icing. The fact that she had made this with only thirty-six hours on her hands was impressive enough, but apparently Mito had gone to culinary school before opening a daycare. She knew how to work fast under pressure and said she had the cake under control, it saved time from having to consult with a bakery.

Pietro didn’t join them in the office, he only let them come in since he had the door unlocked and closed it to let them get settled.

The five minutes were up by the time the cake was lit up, a single sparkler used as a candle. He sent Kurapika a text that Leorio was on his way. He alerted the others and warned them to quiet down, and they shut the lights off, closed the blinds, and assembled together— standing in place.

A jingle of keys.

“Huh. Weird.” Leorio hummed, “I thought I locked my door before I left.” The knob turned. No one uttered a single word.

He opened the door.

The lights flickered on.

 _“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_ ”

“Oh Jesus.” Leorio jumped back at the sound confetti poppers and party horns going off. He’s dressed in his sweaty scrubs and lab coat, Kurapika was able to see the slight bags under his eyes that widened at the surprise.

Gon ran at him and jumped on him.

“Oof!” Leorio’s glasses fell off as well, but he ignored it in favor of hugging Gon back. “The heck are you all doin’ here?!”

Pietro and Zepile entered the room from behind Leorio.

“We wanted to surprise you?” Kurapika asked sheepishly. Phinks blew the party horn in his ear, sneaking up on him, and Leorio screamed.

“Gah!”

They started laughing.

"Happy birthday man!" Knuckle clapped him on the back.

"You _assholes,_ " Leorio cackled, "you guys are here too?"

"I'm off and Knuckle closed for today." Shoot said.

“You forgot your birthday.” Gon pouted, Leorio setting him down. “When I asked you about our scavenger hunt you didn’t even remember. It was supposed to help you remember your birthday.”

“Ah, man!” Leorio facepalmed, “I really did forget didn’t I?”

“We figured you did.” Pietro said. “You got Kurapika rushing us all to arrange this party for you. Don’t worry, they’re authorized to be here. I got all that covered.”

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

“I stole a bus.” Zepile said.

“What?”

“Blow the candle before it goes out!” Phinks pushed him to his desk where the cake was. Melody picked it up and began singing happy birthday, the rest of them singing along.

“Shucks, you guys...” Leorio sighed. Kurapika picked up Leorio’s glasses, holding it for him as he approached the cake. His eyes were glazed, like he was about to break down at any moment and burst into tears.

“Congrats on turning eighty-four.” Killua grinned.

“I’m thirty-five!” Leorio barked, through their laughs, he angrily blew out the sparkler and they clapped.

Komugi silently handed him tissues to wipe away his tears. No one commented on it, but they smiled, offering their consolation by their smiles.

“I’m really sorry I forgot.” Leorio murmured. “I know how much our scavenger hunts mean to you.”

“It’s okay!” Gon beamed, “I was sad about it at first, but then Mr. Kurta planned this whole thing and I felt better about it.”

“They did, huh?”

“It was really fun!”

“You guys did all this for me.”

“You really made us think your brain was melting because you were getting old and had to get reverse brain surgery.” Killua glared. “This was your fault.”

“How is that my fault?!”

Kurapika laughed. “He’s just happy that we were able to go through with the surprise.”

Killua blushed, “I only did this for Gon.” he huffed.

“Thanks for helping!” Gon planted a big fat kiss on the other boy’s cheek. “You’re the best!”

Killua’s face was so red Kurapika was sure he’d explode. They split the cake among themselves and opened the snacks and drinks. It’s amazing, how most of them hadn’t known Leorio for very long and were giving their own heartfelt speeches about how much they appreciated his company. While Pietro’s and Zepile’s were the longest because they had a lot more to say, the shorter ones were just as meaningful. Gon’s was short and sweet and strong enough to make Leorio start sobbing again.

Kurapika kept his own _professional_ , as he liked to say— and Pairo visibly gagged after it because he felt like Kurapika was holding back too much. They don’t have a label on their relationship— he didn’t want to act as if they were married or something. Leorio was a good colleague and a great friend, he enjoyed talking with him and appreciated all that he’s done for him in the time they’ve known each other. But if he didn’t stop himself he’d keep rambling on more than he should. He liked where they were now and wanted to progress slowly, even if they shared longing gazes through their little office party.

“Kurapika would like to sing a song.” Pairo blurted out, just as his speech abruptly ended. Kurapika was about to throw the glass plaque award on Leorio’s table at him. He smiled evilly.

“I.” Kurapika smiled. He had no choice. “...I _will_.” he said reluctantly, through gritted teeth.

“Go, Peeks!”

“Mr. Kurta’s gonna sing for us!”

“I’d love to hear this.” Leorio was forced to sit in his desk chair— or his birthday chair, like it was his throne, as he was wheeled to the front of the office against his will with his birthday sash around his torso. A party hat on his head. The kids knew how to manhandle.

“Everyone knows _I Want it That Way_ by The Backstreet Boys _,_ right?”

They all answered yes.

Kurapika cleared his throat. “Great.” he wanted to kill Pairo so badly. His days were numbered after tonight.

“You are my fire…” he coaxed everyone to sing along with him because he sure as _fuck_ wasn’t doing this alone, “the one desire… believe me when I say… I want it that way…”

Leorio sang along too, as if this wasn’t his moment to sit there and look pretty after a hard day’s work.

“Tell me why! Ain’t nothin’ but a heartache! Tell me why! Ain’t nothin’ but a mistake! Tell me why! I never wanna hear you say!” The room sang together as one, though some of the kids were just mumbling gibberish because they didn’t know the words too well. Knuckle was sobbing because he got _way_ too into it while Shoot stared at him with a fond smile on his face, “I want it that way!”

Leorio and Gon hugged each other.

Kurapika wrapped an arm around Killua’s shoulder. He didn’t try to wiggle his way away from Kurapika’s grip— instead— he slowly, hesitantly, but surely leaned against it.

“Um, so,” Leorio asked when everyone started to file out of his office and leave, “did Zepile really steal a bus just to get here?”

“I’m afraid to find out if that’s true or not.” Kurapika responded.

“I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“I’ve never seen Gon this upset.” Kurapika said, “and you deserve to have a day where you can relax and enjoy yourself. Be thankful for the things you have and how hard you worked to get this far.”

“You…” Leorio took his hands and tugged him close. “You are just _too good_ for this _world_. You're always doing so much for these kids sometimes I wonder why they aren't your own."

He had a habit of making promises he swore he'd follow through because none of his own saw the light of day as a child.

But Kurapika would beg to differ.

A few good deeds didn't compare to what Leorio was worth.

 _You’re too good for me._ Kurapika thought.

“Happy birthday, you big oaf.” He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and drew him in for an embrace. He felt Leorio hunch over against him and hug him back tighter, like he never wanted to let go. He smelled a lot like work, running in and out of the OR all day and making evaluations, that Old Spice smell's a lot more faint and replaced with antiseptic.

“Thank you.” Leorio breathed into his hair, his lips pressed to the crown of his head and stilled for a bit. They don’t move from their spot, swaying. Kurapika’s head resting on his shoulder, fingers digging into his scrubs.

“You smell like blood.”

“I know, Sunshine.”

Kurapika giggled. “This is unsanitary.”

“I’ll get this off in a bit. Just… let me have this.” Leorio pleaded gently.

“Okay.” Kurapika nuzzled into his shoulder.

_You can have all the time you need in the world._

_This is your day._

__

Kurapika got home late, collapsing on his bed without even bothering to shower off all that sweat from the madness that resulted from today. He’s ready to smoke through an entire pack of cigarettes and pass out for sixty years. He thanked his friends and who was able to come from his class for accompanying him on this task endlessly.

Really, he’d be nothing without these rag-tag bunch of misfits.

Leorio sent him a text just as he started dozing off. He ignored Pairo’s texts talking about how he snapped pics of them hugging with an absurd amount of emojis that he’d tease him about for the next three weeks.

 **LP 🩺 [11:23 P.M]:** You got me essential oils with chemical symbols on them.

 **LP 🩺 [11:23 P.M]:** Everybody go home, this is the best birthday gift I got in like, 10 yrs

 **LP 🩺 [11:23 P.M]:** You’re the best, Sunshine. **💖**

 **Kurapika [11:24 P.M]:** You’re welcome, Mr. Leorio. :)

He found himself smiling to himself like a kid in love, phone clutched to his chest, still dressed in his clothes he’s worn all day.

**Author's Note:**

> Zepile did steal a bus.
> 
> Happy Leorio day. ❤️
> 
> Links to my socials and spotify playlist:
> 
>  **[Twitter](http://twitter.com/danganphobia)** | **[Tumblr](http://danganphobias.tumblr.com)** | **[Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LsSJKsUkq8FJg8StOs4xK?si=08I650vTRu6uAy1-uEfTLA)** | **[Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/danganphobia)**


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